Jonathan
VFG Member
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Billie Burke, who is probably best remembered for her role as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in Wizard of Oz had a very interesting life. Billie Burke was born with the birthname of Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke on August 7, 1885 in Washington, D.C. As a child, she toured the US and Europe with the circus because her father was employed with them as a clown. Her family ultimately settled in London, England where she was fortunate to see plays in London's historic west side. She wanted to be a stage actress. At the age of 18 she made her debut as an actress and her career was off and running. Her performances were very well received with the London set.By 1910 Broadway in New York City was now recognized as the stage capital of the world and BIllie moved to the U.S. where she appeared in numerous plays. Her first film was in 1916's PEGGY playing the lead role. The film was a hit, and she becamse an instant star, appearing in many films until her marriage in 1921 to Florenz Ziegfeld, of Ziegfeld Follies fame, when she retired and lived the leisured wealthy life until the stock market crash of 1929 when they lost every penny to their names. Billie had no choice but to return to work and to make things worse, Flo Ziegfeld died in 1933. She expanded her potential income by using her name for a line of dresses, which was a marketing fad for many Hollywood stars and famous women of the 1930s, including Joan Crawford, Ginger Rogers, Shirley Temple, and even Amelia Earhart! She found great success in films throughout the 1930s and 1940s but her career began to slow down in the 1950s. Billie retired for good in Los Angeles in 1960 where she died of natural causes on May 14, 1970 at the age of 84.
Billie Burke, who is probably best remembered for her role as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in Wizard of Oz had a very interesting life. Billie Burke was born with the birthname of Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke on August 7, 1885 in Washington, D.C. As a child, she toured the US and Europe with the circus because her father was employed with them as a clown. Her family ultimately settled in London, England where she was fortunate to see plays in London's historic west side. She wanted to be a stage actress. At the age of 18 she made her debut as an actress and her career was off and running. Her performances were very well received with the London set.By 1910 Broadway in New York City was now recognized as the stage capital of the world and BIllie moved to the U.S. where she appeared in numerous plays. Her first film was in 1916's PEGGY playing the lead role. The film was a hit, and she becamse an instant star, appearing in many films until her marriage in 1921 to Florenz Ziegfeld, of Ziegfeld Follies fame, when she retired and lived the leisured wealthy life until the stock market crash of 1929 when they lost every penny to their names. Billie had no choice but to return to work and to make things worse, Flo Ziegfeld died in 1933. She expanded her potential income by using her name for a line of dresses, which was a marketing fad for many Hollywood stars and famous women of the 1930s, including Joan Crawford, Ginger Rogers, Shirley Temple, and even Amelia Earhart! She found great success in films throughout the 1930s and 1940s but her career began to slow down in the 1950s. Billie retired for good in Los Angeles in 1960 where she died of natural causes on May 14, 1970 at the age of 84.
